EARTHQUAKE SHOCK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 January 1941, Page 6

EARTHQUAKE SHOCK

FELT SEVERELY IN BAY OF PLENTY REGION No Casualties or Very Serious Damage BUILDINGS ROCKED ALARMINGLY IN TOWNS DULL ROAR FROM SEA HEARD AT WHAKATANE (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) AI’CKLAX 1). .laituary 9. ( t‘iiire<l on a line from Wliakaiane io Taneatiui and Ruaiokoi what was described as ihe worst earthquake since the Napier disaster in 19.T1 rocked buildings and sent people rushing outside in many parts of the central Hay of Plenty area this a. ft ernonn. .No persons have been reported injured and properly damage was confined mainly io broken household articles. windows ami chimneys, with a few isolated slips on communication routes, but the severity of the jolt was the greatest some of the areas have ever experienced. The earthquake did not reach as far as Rotorua to the west. I’aupo to the south or Gisborne to the east, and seems mainly lo have been confuted with varying intensity to an area roughly ? bounded by Rotoma, the Opouraio Valley in the Ruatoki area, and ()poi iki.

TIME AND INTENSITY. f

The time at which it was felt varied i from about 2.35 p.m. to 2.45 p.m. and it • was generally estimated that the ac- | tual shock lasted for about one minute. : Intensity was greatest- in the Whaka-tane-Taneatua-Ruatoki line and diminished as the shock spread east and west. 1; was felt only slightly at Te Puke and-Tauranga and also in the districts east of Opotiki. N The General opinion was that it i came from somewhere out to sea and ( interest was focused on White Island ; but low clouds obscured it from view. ALARM IN WHAKATANE. I Several of the districts, including > Whakatane and Opoiiki, reported lighter earthquakes at other times ol the day. Opoiiki felt one at 2 p.m. and several after the severe shake, while Whakatane experienced a slight recurrence at 4.50 p.m. Whakatane people rushed into the streets when a dull roar from the sea war followed by a shock which violently swayed buildings and trees and then dwindled off into a series of lateral waves. It was described as being the most) severe earthquake the town has experienced since the Napier disaster and; its motion was stated to have been de-■ finitely from east to west SLIP ON RAILWAY LINE. A slip was brought down on the rail-! * way line between Whakatane West and j i Pekatahi. It covered 11 yards of line: ‘ and delayed the arrival of the Time::- i tua-bound express from Auckland and I also a goods train. The slip was cleared early this evening but the site is still dangerous to train ‘raffle. Another slip fell about half a mile j from Ohope beach on the road to; , Whakatane. A traffic lane was quickly ( I cleared through the spoil and* little I I delay was caused to holiday traffic, i At Ohope beach goods in both stores 1 | were thrown to the ground and dam-; I aged. In the camp store some parish- j ! able foodstuffs were destroyed through I ‘jars breaking. Heavy objects were dis-; .lodged tn houses and at least tw.<I windows were broken. 1 CHIMNEYS BROUGHT DOWN. i I Taneatua also suffered the worst nf the shock. Chimneys which were not ■ well braced were brought down, and ‘ there were many reports of damage to i household objects. Display goods in , shops were thrown on to the fitter. Al

MORE TREMORS BUT NO FURTHER DAMAGE. AUCKLAND. This Day. Following on the news -of sharp earthquake shocks in the Bay of Plenty yesterday afternoon, reports from Whakatane this morning indicate that a series of tremors were felt in many parts of the district during the night, but there was no further damage. _____ _ < _ Mailland's bakery shop most of the shelves were swept clear of goods and tiid there were many breakages. Mr. V. Mead, of Mead's General Store, was working on a truck under a hoist and saw his building sway so Car out of alignment that he thought it was going to fall flat. Then it went back with a jolt and half the goods on the counters and shelves were jerked out on to the floor. The shop was closed for the rest of the day w enable the staff to clear away the debris, which included broken glass. crockery electric light bulbs, and paint which had spilled out of tins when their lids burst on impact with the floor. The shock was felt throughout the Opouraio Valley, and farmers bad the experience of earthquake waves coming towards them across paddocks in a north-to-south direction. FARMERS' EXPERIENCES. Farmers working on top of hay- . stacks also had unpleasant experiences, and one was thrown from the top of a 40-foot ladder. A four-ton cheese vat at Ruatoki was shifted an meh and a half out of position by the jolt. Al Opotiki the earthquake began at 2.37 with a slight movement, which suddenly increased in intensity and became the strongest to have been fell since the Napier earthquake. Buildings rocked alarmingly and electric light wires and telephone lines swayed for long after the shock hud ceased. In the town iself only a few articles were dislodged and broken, but in country districts reports of household breakages were numerous. It was felt very strongly in the Waintahi Valley, and in areas to the west of Opotiki. but its intensity was obviously decreasing as it struck the town and it was fell with diminishing force to the eastward.